Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12: THE POWER VACUUM
The aftermath of the Chelsea Piers ambush sent shockwaves through the global financial markets. By Monday morning, Wall Street was in a frenzy. The news anchors could barely keep up with the headlines: Vance Global CEO Arrested in Kidnapping Conspiracy; Rivas Shadow Empire Exposed.
I stood in the primary boardroom of our Manhattan headquarters, the doors locked, the windows heavily tinted. I wasn't wearing a dress anymore. I wore a tailored black pantsuit, my hair pulled back tightly. Leo was safe in an underground bunker at our estate in Connecticut, guarded by a platoon of ex-Mossad operators hired by my father.
"The board of Vance Global is panicking," Sofia said, throwing a tablet onto the table. "With Evelyn in federal custody without bail, their stock is down thirty percent. But they aren't backing down. They’ve appointed a new interim CEO—a man named Christopher Sterling."
I narrowed my eyes. "Sterling. The former US Deputy Attorney General?"
"The very same," my father said, walking into the room. "He’s clean on paper, but he’s been on the Rivas payroll for fifteen years. He’s using his political connections to fast-track the federal indictment against us for the forged smuggling documents Julian planted."
"So they’re still trying to jail me to seize control of Grupo Salazar’s shipping corridors," I said, a cold realization washing over me. "They don't care that Julian is dead. The machine is still running."
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"We need a leverage play, Valeria," Sofia warned. "The federal judge assigned to your indictment is Judge Thomas Alvarez. He’s notoriously unbribable, stiff, and deeply conservative. If those forged documents look real to him, you will stand trial in a US federal court."
"Then we don't convince the judge," I said, looking out at the city. "We convince the people who control him. It’s time to pay a visit to Santiago's favorite playground."
